Israel and Hamas have announced a ceasefire after they agreed to an Egyptian-brokered proposed to halt 11 days of fighting in the Gaza Strip.
A statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the security cabinet “unanimously accepted the recommendations to accept an Egyptian initiative for an unconditional ceasefire. Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad also confirmed the ceasefire in a statement, saying it would come into force this morning. In a televised address, U.S. President Joe Biden said both sides agreed the truce would begin immediately. Egypt is sending security delegations to Israel and the Palestinian territories to help uphold ceasefire.
At least 232 Palestinians, including 65 children, have been martyred in 11 days of Israeli brutal and barbaric bombardment.
Celebrations were heard on Gaza streets in the minutes after the truce began as cars honked their horns and some guns were fired in the air, AFP journalists said, while in the occupied West Bank, joyful crowds also took to the streets. With no alerts sounding in Israel to warn of incoming Hamas rockets, the ceasefire appeared to be holding in the early hours of Friday.
The truce brokered by Egypt, that also included Gaza’s second-most powerful armed group, Islamic Jihad, was agreed following mounting international pressure to stem the bloodshed which erupted on May 10.
Pakistan has welcomed the announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas which came into force on Friday after 11 days of deadly fighting.
Israel’s occupation of Palestine must end & illegal settlements & apartheid like regime imposed in the occupied territories must be dismantled. Implementation of UN res for establishment of independent & contiguous Palestinian State w/ Al-Quds Al Sharif as its capital, imperative https://t.co/ecoHBAwDrj
— Shah Mahmood Qureshi (@SMQureshiPTI) May 20, 2021
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi who is in New York and recently addressed an emergency meeting of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Palestine, welcomed the truce.
“This is the power of collective, unified action; this is the effort of every person and every nation, together for a just cause,” Qureshi tweeted. He hoped that this ceasefire is the first step towards peace in Palestine.
In another tweet, the foreign minister said that Israel’s occupation of Palestine must end, and illegal settlements and ‘apartheid like regime imposed in the occupied territories must be dismantled’.
“Implementation of UN resolution for establishment of independent and contiguous Palestinian State with Al-Quds Al Sharif as its capital, imperative,” Qureshi said.